Being fond of almonds, I asked the chief steward why they had
stopped serving them. After a little hesitation he said that it had been
done at the suggestion of the butler, who had noticed that I broke the
almonds in half before I ate them and that the noise made by their
snapping was very disagreeable to Mr. Pulitzer.
With the best intentions in the world, our meals were now and then
disturbed by noise. A knife suddenly slipped with a loud click against a
plate, a waiter dropped a spoon on a silver tray, or some one knocked
over a glass. We were all in such a state of nervous tension that
whenever one of these little accidents occurred we jumped in our chairs
as though a pistol had been fired, and looked at J. P. with horrified
expectancy.
There could be no doubt whatever as to the effect these noises had upon
him. He winced as a dog winces when you crack a whip over him; the only
question was whether by a powerful effort he could regain his composure
or whether his suffering would overcome his self-restraint to the extent
of making him gloomy or querulous during the rest of the meal.
The effect by no means ceased when we rose from table. If by bad luck
two or three noises occurred at dinner--and our excessive anxiety in the
matter was sometimes our undoing--Mr.
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